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Multiple-Meaning Words

A multiple-meaning word is spelled and said the same way but means different things: a bat flies at night, and you hit a ball with a bat. Context is the only clue, which is why these words are such good reading practice.

Here are 124 multiple-meaning words from past ClueBy puzzles, each with a real example sentence for every meaning. Use them as a reference, or make a printable worksheet below.

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Students read each sentence and write the missing word. Every word appears in several sentences, each time with a different meaning.

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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  2. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  3. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  4. I'll be taking the ________________.
  5. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  6. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  7. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  8. He works in a ________________ mill.
  9. She's very handy with a ________________.
  10. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  11. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  12. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  13. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  14. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  15. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  16. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  17. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  18. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  19. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  20. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  21. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  22. The water is too ________________.
  23. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  24. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com

Answer key

  1. squash — the vegetable
  2. bore — to tire
  3. staff — a stick
  4. tube — the underground
  5. degree — an amount
  6. staff — employees
  7. staff — employees
  8. saw — the tool
  9. saw — the tool
  10. squash — the sport
  11. degree — from a university
  12. squash — to crush
  13. tube — in a tire
  14. bear — the animal
  15. bore — gave birth
  16. saw — past of 'see'
  17. cold — an illness
  18. bear — the animal
  19. degree — temperature
  20. bore — to drill
  21. tube — a container
  22. cold — not warm
  23. cold — the Cold War
  24. bear — to put up with

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

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Frequently asked questions

What are multiple-meaning words?

Words with the same spelling and pronunciation but more than one meaning, like bark (of a dog or of a tree) or bank (for money or of a river). You can only tell which meaning is meant from the rest of the sentence.

Are multiple-meaning words the same as homonyms?

Mostly, yes. Teachers often use "multiple-meaning words" and "homonyms" for the same idea. Homophones are different: they sound alike but are spelled differently, like flour and flower.

Are the worksheets free?

Yes. Make and print as many as you like for home or classroom use. Each sheet has its own link, so you can print the same one again.

Where do the words come from?

From past ClueBy puzzles, a daily game where you sort twelve sentences by their missing word. A new puzzle every day adds four more words to this list.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com